Electromagnetically operated valve



March 6, 1945.

w. A. RAY

ELECTROMAGNETICALLY OPERATED VALV Filed Feb. 23, 1942 %Me I Gttorneg Patented Mar. 6, 1 94 5 'E Ec'rnoMaGNmcALLY OPERATED VALVE William A. anime; Angeles, Cam;

Application February 23, 1942, Serial No. 431,973

5 Claims.

My present invention relates to electromagnetically-operated fluid-control valv es, and particularly to those oi the type employing a disklike 'closure member which isgonstructed wholly or in part of magnetic material so that it also serves as the movable elementyor armature, oi' the electromagnetic system. It is amain object of this invention to provide an electromagnetically operated valve, of the type indicated, 'which r is particularly adapted for use on alternating current.

Another object of this invention is the provision, in a valve of the type indicated, ot an A. C. electromagnetic operator adapted to be mounted on the valve casing so that it presenta plane polar faces to the armature; a further provision being the arrangement of a screen, or diaph-agm, abutting the pole faces, whereby the electromagnet is shielded from the fluid controlled by the' valve.

Another object is the provision, in an electronagnetically operated valve oI-'the character described in the preceding object, of an electromagnet having a generally E-shaped core, the ends of the arms ot which form the pole faces of the electromagnet; and of means for removably mounting said core on the casing so that the coii therefor (which eneircles the middle arm tromagnetic unit taken along the line 5-5 of I netic unit 25 of .the device shown in Fig. 1, taken enerally along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is a bottom elevation of the electromagnetic unit shown in Fig. 3,

Figura 5 is a fragmentary section of the elec- E. 'i: and

Figure 6 is a view, in perspective, of a single 'lan'ination of the electromagnet core 26.

In the drawing, the numeral ll indicates a casing having an inlet !2 and an outlet l3 separated by a partition !4. This partition is apertured to threadedly receive a hollow member I! which provides at its upper end an annular knifeedsed valve seat s. Cooperable with the seat IS is a thin disk-shaped closure member I'I, of magnetic material, which is'normally held in tight engagement with the seat by theforce of a contractile spring iB. The uppr end of this spring is attached to the reduced lower end of a plug i! pressed in a shouldered central opening through the closure member ll, and the lower of the E-shaped core) can readilyje changed or replaced. V a

Another object s the provision of a diaphragm,

o! the type referred to in the second-precedinz' paragraph, which is constructed o! normally nonmagnetic metal, a portion of the diaphragm adjacent a pole face 'oi the magnet beins selectively heat-,treatedso that that portion is rendered substantially magnetic. i

Another object is theprovision of an electromagnet. especially'adapted tor the operation ot a valve or the character described, in which^a novel shading ooil arrangement is ihcorporated;

Other objects and advantages ot the invention will be mund` in the description, the drawing, and the appended claims; and tor complete under-- standing ot the invention reference may-be had to the following detailed' description and accom- -panying drawing, wherein,

Flgu'e 1. is a sectional view of an electromag netcallvpp rated vave embodying my invention; the-main upper portion of thedevice being viewed generally along the line l-'-| of Fix. 2:

Figure' 2' is a ira'gmentary' transverse' section taken along tholine 2-2 oim. 1:

'maun s-is'a section through the electronag end .of the spring is hboked to pin 20 received in an opening through the bottom wall st ge casing ll and held in engagement with a shou der. formed 'by' the reduced upper end of that opening, by a hollow plug z.

The closure member ll is freely guided &tits periphery'in anopening through the'top wall of the casing; and inounted on a shoulder i'ormed by an outer enlargeme'nt of that opening is an ,electromagnet generally indicated at 25, comprising a laminated core 26 and an energizing coil' 21. Since the closure member ll is of magnetic material, it also serves as the electromagnet armature. TheLelectrohagnet is better seen i .in Figo. 3, 4 and 5, the core 26 being shown built up of a pluraliw ot E-shaped aminations 28, a r

' engage the upper surface of the base 30 and thus 'limit the extension of the core therethrough, the bottom surfaces of the core arms terminating in the plane of' the underside of the base. The coi 21 encircles the middlearm 26'? of the core 28; and the core and coil assembly is secured to the base 30 by a plurality of elongated screws 32 which extend through a plate' 33, on the top of thecoremndarethreadedintothebase.

arrangement, it will be seen that the coil 2? can readily be replaced when burrit out, or changed :for one adapted for use on a difierent voltage. The material of the base 353 between the middle and outer arms of the core is cut away at 3@ so as to break the otherwise short-circuiting turn formed around these arms by the base. The unremove'cl portions 35 of the base, between the middle and outer arms of the core, are tapered away from the arms to prevent the possibility of induced currents cwing in the material of the base around the arms and "immping" the gap 34 by conduction through the central laminations of the core. The extreme lower end portion of the middle arm Zt" is provided with a pairof Slots 36 to receive Copper bars ST which extend across the opening provided in the base for that arm. These bars have a depthequal to the thickness of the base and are secured at their ends by, brazing; shallow openings 38 in the bottom surface of the base facilitating this operation.

- The bars 37, together with the material of the base between the ends of the bars, constitute a shading coil encircling the portion of the middle arm of the core between the bars. This shading coil serves to mantain the magnetic fiux in that portion when the main fiux in the electromagnetic circuit is zero, which contributes to vibrationless operation,

As was mentioned hereinabove, the electromagnet 25 is mounted in an opening through the top Wall of the valve casing, the marginal portion of the base 30 resting on a shoulder formed by an outer enlargement of that opening. The electromagnet is securely held in position by screws extending through a ring lfl ahdthreaded in the casing, the undersde of the ring cooperating with the upper marginal portion of the base. Extending from the upper surface of the base near its outer edge, is a skirt :32 which serves to position the lower end of a housing 33 which encompasses the upper portion of the electromagnet and is secured thereto by screws i l, threaded into the top plate 33. The housing lB carries at its upper end a threaded nipple &ti for connection to a wiring Conduit and through which the coil leads lt extend. i

Interposed between the underside of the base 30 and the valve casing, is a thin metallic diaphragm 19 which serves both to protect the electromagnet from the, fluid controlled by the valve and also as' a magnetic separator." This diaphragm, which is preferably not more than 0.005 inch in thickness, may be of non-magnetic metal such as bronze. such a diaphragm effectively prevents the possibility of magnetic sticking (due to residual magnetism) of the armature iii to the core when the electromagnet is deenergized.

However, under some conditions I prefer to employ for the Construction of the diaphragm 39 a metal which, while normally non-magnetic, can be selectively heat-treated so that the particular portions so treated become magnetic. A suitable material for that purpose is the variety of stainless steel known as "18-8," and containing 18% of chromium and 8% of nickel. When a diaphragm of such material is employed, it is preferred to treat only the central portion thereof which &buts the middle arm of the core so that that portion becomes appreciably magnetc. The shaded portion of the middle arm then becomes more effective in its influence upon the armature which tends toward more uniform holding of the same.

se as to prevent a dash-pot effect when the armature-closure-member il is attracted upon energization of the electromagnet, a plurallty of openings ti! 'are provided toward its periphery.

Extending from the upper surface of'the valve port member i, concentrically of its seat lt, is a "guard-ring" 48 which, being positioned slightly below but closely adjacent the plane of the seat iii, serves to 'minimize uneven wear of that seat by limiting the degree of tilt that the closure member can assume in its engagement therewith. This feature is fully described and claimed in my copendng application, Serial No. 418,'707, filed November 12, 1941.

While I have herein shown and described, by way of illustration, a specific embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that I intend therefore to be limited only by the scope of the app nded claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. In an electromagnetc operator: an E-shaped core, the surfaces at the ends of the arms of which form spaced-apart pole faces located in a, plane; a mounting plate for said core and constructed of non-magnetic material, said plate having apertures therein for receiving the outer end portions of said core arms; a coil winding encircling the inner portion of the middle arm of said core and retained in position by said plate; said plate in cluding means forming a shading coil encircling a portion of the cross-.sectional area of the middle arm of the core and cooperating with a slot formed in the end surface thereof; and a disk-like armature positioned closely adjacent the outer surface of said plate and in a plane parallel to that of said pole faces for attr'action theretoward when said coil winding is energized.

2. In an electromagnetc operator: an E-shaped core, the surfaces at the ends of the arms of which form spaced-apart pole faces located in a plane; a mounting plate for said core and constructed of non-magnetic material, said plate having plane parallel opposite surfaces and apertures extending between said surfaces for receivng the oute' end portions of said core arms; means integral with said core and forming surfaces engageable with the inner surface of said plate for so limiting the projection through said apertures of the arms of the core that the plane of said pole faces substantially coincides with the plane of the outer surface of the plate; a coil winding encircling the inner portion of the middle arm of said core and retained in position by said plate; and a disk-like armature positioned closely adjacent and parallel to said outer surface of the plate for attraction toward said pole faces when said coil winding is energized. i

3. In an electromagnetic operator: anIE-shaped core, the surfaces at the ends of the arms of which form spaced-apart pole faces located in a plane; a mounting plate for said core and constructed of non-magnetic material, said plate having plane parallel opposite surfaces and apertures extending between said surfaces for reeiving the 'outer end portions of said core arms; means so limiting the projection through said apertures of the arms of the core that the plane of said pole faces coincides substantially with the plane of the outer surface of the plate; said plate including means forming a shading coil encircling a medial portion of the middle arm of the core-and cooperating with slots formed in the end surface thereof; a coil winding encirclng the inner portion of the middle arm of the core and retained in position by said plate; and a disk-like armature positioned closely adjacent and parallel to said outer surface of the plat for attraction toward said pole faces when said coil winding'is energized.

4. In an electronagnetic operator: an E-shaped core, the surfaces at the ends of the arms of which form spaced-apart pole faces located in a. plane; a mounting plate for said core and constructed of non-magnetic material, said plate having plane inner portion of the middle arm of the core and retained thereon by said plate; and. a. disk-like 'armature positioned closely adjacent and parallel to said diaphragm for 'attraction toward said pole faces when said coil winding is energized.

5. In an electromagnetic operator: an E-shaped core, the surfaces at the ends of the arms of which form spaced-apart pole faces substantially in a plane; a mounting plate for said core and constructed of non-magnetic material, said plate having apertures therein for receiving the outer end portions of said core arms; a. coil winding encircling the inner portion of the middle arm of said core and retained in position by said plate; said plate including, and forming part of, means forming a shading coil encircling a portion of the cross-sectional area of at least one of the core arms and cooperating with a. slot formed in the end surface thereof; and an armature positioned adjacent said pole faces for attraction theretoward when said coil winding is energized.

WILLIAM A. RAY. 

